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Illinois Public Media

Indiana House: Governors Don’t Have to Wait to Lead Colleges

Legislative Republicans have defeated a Democratic proposal aimed at preventing a repeat of Purdue University's hiring of Mitch Daniels as its new president while he was still governor.

House Democratic leader Scott Pelath offered the provision, which would have required a governor to be out of office for a year before being appointed president of a state university.

Pelath says he's sure Daniels will be a good president at Purdue, but that his selection six months before leaving office set a "horrible precedent.'' He says he worries about future governors lining up taxpayer-supported jobs for themselves.

House members voted 65-28 against Pelath's proposal after Republican floor leader Bill Friend said the proposal should've been offered in a separate bill for committee debate.